AG 116AD Lecture Notes - Lecture 49: Zoonomia, Pangenesis, Agnosticism
29 Jul 2020
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Charles darwin (1809 1882) and his half-cousin francis galton (1822 1911, galton> idea of hereditary genius and its concomitant notion of eugenics. Also formulated the modern conception of the nature nurture dichotomy, established both the conceptual and statistical foundations of behavior genetics, and first promoted the idea and potential value of intelligence testing: directly or indirectly inspired by darwin"s evolutionary theory. Galton expressed his feelings in some poetry written in his grandfather"s heroic style but he did not openly acknowledge a connection. As a lifelong inventor of diverse instruments ranging from a lock-picking device to improved surveying tools, he was fully aware that he was following a pattern set by his grandfather. Indeed, galton"s serious introduction to evolutionary theory did not come until he read on the origin of species in 1859. When he did, his reaction was partially conditioned by his prior personal relationship with his older cousin to which i now turn.
